Cabaret, Events, Performances, Review

Metanoia Theatre Presents MILK BARS

Engaging and evocative nostalgia

By Narelle Wood

Just as the title suggests, Milk Bars explores that iconic Australian fixture of the milk bar, its place in Australia’s past and its potentially questionable future.

Milk Bars

This is not your average theatre show though; it’s performance art. Over the course of an hour and a half, the audience are guided from room to room to witness different performances and art installations that all, in some way, explore the idea of the milk bar.

The performances range from Elnaz Sheshgelani’s exploration of pre-Islamic Persian storytelling to Janette Hoe’s movement and mime pieces to a heart-felt talk presented by Domenic Greco, the executive Director of CAMBA. Each performance adds another perspective to the milk bar experience. Hoe transforms herself into a milk-bar owner, contrasting the talkative and perky behind-the-counter persona with the personal struggles that occur behind the scenes. Shane Grant’s monologue, beginning with advertising catchphrases that he and Zayn Ulfan shout at each other from across the room, documents the sacrifice and hard work of milk bar owners especially in a time of modernisation.

The theme across all performances is definitely this hard work and sacrifice in the face of an unknown future, thanks to globalisation and giant supermarket chains. But amidst this are stories of new immigrants finding their place in new communities and the sense of community and belonging that a milkbar can provide.

Each of the performances in themselves were fantastic, and as an ensemble, left me profoundly nostalgic for the local corner store where you could buy a massive bag of mixed lollies for 20 cents and buy your mum a packet of ciggies because the shop lady knew you. This is in no small way due to the setting of Milkbars, which under the artistic direction of Gorkem Acaroglu, transports you back to what appears to an authentic  1970’s milk bar. There are Big M calendar ads on the wall, an obligatory Chico Roll ad, Tarax pineapple soda in the fridge, and you can also purchase your very own bag of mixed lollies.

This isn’t the sort of show I’d normally gravitate towards, but the mixture of art installations, performances and movement between spaces was a really fascinating way of reflecting upon what the milk bar means to you personally, as well as to the performances and Australia culture.

 Milk Bars was performed at The Mechanics Institute, 270 Sydney Rd, Brunswick, from July 27 – August 6, 2016

Performances, Theatre, Whats On

Anthony Weigh’s EDWARD II

Tender chaos

By Leeor Adar

For all the chaos of Christopher Marlowe’s brief life, I’m sure he would have sat in the Merlyn Theatre last night with a wicked smile on his face to see the tender chaos Matthew Lutton and his team resurrected.

Edward II.jpg

But let’s be honest, with Anthony Weigh’s writing and Marg Horwell’s impressive set design, this work is a beast of its own glory.

The play is broken into the fragments of the artefacts the boy prince (Julian Mineo/Nicholas Ross) inspects from his father’s reign. The noble handle of a sword and handkerchief descends to a bag of faeces left at the palace gates. The frames of the scenes marked by the flint and steel of the lighter, signify the brief candle of these moments leading towards Edward II’s fall.

Edward II is a museum to the hypocrisy of the people’s love for their monarch. It’s a cold world, but despite the blood and pulp of the people within it, at the core of this rotten apple of yet another kingdom, is the most tender love story between two men I have ever witnessed on stage. Johnny Carr (Ned) and Paul Ashcroft (Piers) capture the heady, shaking, vulnerability of the impossible-to-bottle kind of love. Their energy was marvellous on stage.

Ned’s brutality and unpredictability at first drove this production, but even the bubbling inner-workings of an unstable prince could not quash the ambitions of the likes of Mortimer, played with mastery by Marco Chiappi. When Chiappi got going on Weigh’s words, it became Mortimer I. For all the sweat and passion of Carr and Ashcroft, Chiappi’s delivery drew the masses into the palm of his hand – audience and peasant alike. Even as Mortimer lulled a sensually delusional Ned towards death, we could not help but accept the sensibility of this decision. Because tomorrow, we will have another king.

The woman’s role in Edward II is to nurture the next king, but Sib (Belinda McClory) laments the loss of her potential in this world. Although Sib plays the role of the queen-to-be, there is ambition pulsing through her sinewy body for a surge of control. McClory’s voice is hollow and powerful as she pushes her lover aside and walks with purpose across the stage. But at the close of this play, she’s exhausted, calling out, unanswered, into the kingdom she birthed but could not rein.

The Malthouse Theatre has always been the Marlowe-esque bad boy of the Melbourne theatre world, challenging the dimensions of theatre and immersing its audiences in treacherous and thought-provoking terrain. This one such terrain was bold, decadent and ultimately heartbreaking.

Malthouse Theatre until August 21

http://malthousetheatre.com.au/whats-on/edward-ii

Cabaret, Performances, Whats On

The Butterfly Club Presents SIMON TAYLOR DOES A WHOLE BUNCH OF COOL STUFF

He sure does

By Joana Simmons

He’s suave, he’s stellar, he’s spellbinding. He’s Simon Taylor and he is an abundance of talent and charm in his one-man show- Simon Taylor Does a Whole Bunch of Cool Stuff. Let me just say here, the title lives up to and exceeds its name in this well-structured, well-timed and well-isn’t-he-lovely show.

Simon Taylor

Opening with an epic escape act, he lights up the stage and the faces in the audience (quite a few, considering it’s a cold Tuesday night.) Simon is charming and charismatic, warming us up with some great banter, tales of his life in his new home, Los Angeles, and a trick he learned at The Magic Castle. I was the lucky one who was escorted onto the stage to pick the card, and I couldn’t believe how the magic unfolded. Card tricks aside; Simon Taylor is the Jack-of-all-trades. The things that come out of his mouth, some magic, some musical, are all delivered with skill and energy.  It’s showmanship at its best.

By about 20 minutes in, the audience is thoroughly on board and joining in the sing-a-long to Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie”, providing backing vocals, and whooping and gasping for all of Simon’s moves in all the right places. In a show like this, it’s hard not to be won over, with our host’s honest funny anecdotes and obvious enjoyment of what he’s doing. We have fun because he does. He tells us how he’s excited to be back at The Butterfly Club as it’s where he made his debut seven years ago, and the first stage he sang upon – and he’s been having lessons since. Simon was accompanied by Louise Goh and even played himsel:, vocally the notes were there, though I can’t wait to hear the resonance and fullness as his voice continues to develop.

The US is extremely lucky to have an export who is the whole package. With magic, music, stories and funnies; Simon Taylor Does A Whole Bunch of Cool Stuff is a show you could take anyone to and they will love it. Hell, you can even go by yourself because by the end of it you’ll feel like you, Simon and the audience are a bunch of mates, sharing this incredible experience that’s a live entertainment extravaganza. It’s on till Sunday, book today.

Date: 7th of August, 2016

Time:8:30pm

Location: The Butterfly Club, Carson Place, Off Little Collins Street, Melbourne

Price: From $25­

Bookings: TheButterflyClub.com

Music, Review, Whats On

CHANGES: A Theatrical Tribute to the Music of David Bowie

It’s all about the music

By Sally McKenzie

David Bowie was a theatrical performer, so it makes sense for Kendall-Jane Rundell and her team at Bare Naked Theatre to deliver the music of Bowie in a theatrical format. They promised  ‘a personal, raw account of storytelling through contemporary and physical theatre’, but unfortunately I felt that the ‘storytelling’ aspect fell short in many aspects. The music, however, particularly the magnificent accompaniment by Robot Child, was pure Bowie indulgence in every way.

Changes.jpg

Musically, this show was quite an ambitious project, as it included roughly 35 Bowie songs, no dialogue. I was in music heaven. Songs included Bowie’s better-known hits such as the title song ‘Changes’, ‘ Space Oddity’, ‘Life on Mars’, ‘Let’s Dance’, ‘China Girl’, ‘Fashion’, ‘Starman’,  ‘Under Pressure’ , ‘Rebel Rebel’ and ‘Golden Years’.  Some of his more rare gems such as ‘Oh You Pretty Things’, ‘Where Are They Now’ and ‘Boys Keep Swinging’ also played an important part in this musical tribute. With the absence of a conductor, the band executed every song with confidence and flair. The transitions between songs was mostly smooth with only the occasional brief pause while musicians changed instruments or to allow for dramatic pauses on stage.

Robot Child with guest musician Matt Arter (guitar, sax, harmonica) has one of the finest line-ups of musicians I have seen. The arrangements were very close to the original Bowie tunes. The sounds produced on the keyboards of Owen James and David Hartney were great replicas of those included on Bowie’s albums, and the piano solos played by James in ‘Life on Mars’ and ‘Oh You Pretty Things’ were a highlight. Waleed Aly is indeed a virtuoso on the electric guitar. His solos were a feature of the night as they soared through the venue.

Together Dan Slater (drumkit) and Daniel Lijnders (bass guitar) provided a rock solid foundation for the band, executing every riff and rhythm with absolute accuracy and a great understanding of the vast collection of Bowie’s ‘substyles’ of alternative rock. I also particularly enjoyed the backing vocals provided by Hartney and Arter. Those added harmonies and the conviction and passion by these musicians were a huge asset to the show.

The main vocalists of the night were Jeff Wortman (who was also the music director and the regular lead vocalist of Robot Child) and Rundell (director). Wortman’s vocals were impressive. I was amazed by his vocal stamina as he sang in almost every song – and with 7 or 8 shows remaining, has a huge job ahead of him. Rundell was the other lead vocalist, and although her voice suited the range and androgyny of some of the Bowie songs,  she unfortunately did not have the vocal flexibility or security required. Her intonation wasn’t always accurate and I felt her voice lacked the power and impact required to match the energy and professionalism of the band.

With no program, director’s or musical director’s notes and no biographies of cast for the show, I wondered initially: what was the original concept for Changes? What was the purpose?  I waited for the actors on stage to tell me a story but struggled to connect to any of the themes. The six other performers in the cast portrayed the ‘fans’, ‘party-goers’, ‘drug-takers’ etc. in Bowie’s life, and attempted to provide a more abstract account of Bowie’s songs and lyrics with physical movement – some choreographed, some not.  Costumes by Jessica Allie were simple and neutral, and make up was ‘Bowie-esque’, but the performers seemed to lack an overall sense of purpose and commitment. Jacqui Essing was the stand-out in this hard-working but under-utilised ensemble. She looked completely comfortable on stage and was the most confident with her movement.

Lighting and sound was fabulous. A wall of light rigged behind the band shone into the audience as if to represent the ‘outer space’ theme in the relevant parts of the show. Large hanging spot lights were scattered and clearly visible over the largely open stage, giving the sense of Hollywood or TV studio. Handling such a big sound in a high-ceiling venue is a huge challenge, and LSS Studios triumphed again. The band was mixed perfectly and the overall sound was at ‘Rock Concert’ level, which was much needed. At times though, it was difficult to hear the words of the vocalists. Bowie’s lyrics are often abstract and difficult to understand, however, so this wasn’t a major deterrent.

Admittedly, this is not the cohesive, meaningful or enlightened dramatic performance the publicity suggested, but I was truly impressed by the hundreds of hours put in to rehearsing and performing such an epic collection of songs, and if you are a Bowie fan, you will revel in the sound of this show.

Changes: A Theatrical Tribute is at Gasworks Arts Park until the 6th August. Book at http://www.gasworks.org.au/event/changes/ or barenakedtheatre@gmail.com

Review, Theatre, Whats On

Amanda Muggleton in THE BOOK CLUB

Thoroughly entertaining

By Myron My

A book club: where everyone has great intentions to read the book but, for some reason, never seems to have the time. Either that, or the meeting itself turns out to be an opportunity to talk about everything – but the novel. In The Book Club, middle-class suburban housewife Deb Martin seems to have found the perfect literary social group, but a few indiscretions and a blurring of fact and fiction begin to create some interesting moments for Deb.

The Book Club.jpg

Amanda Muggleton is completely at ease with the demands of this production which, in her case, is portraying every single character – male and female – and relying on nothing but her spectacular facial expressions, body language and voice for differentiation. Her comedy timing and physicality is spot on and while she plays these characters as “big”, Muggleton still manages to retain an honesty and authenticity to them all. 

The story, originally written by Roger Hall and revised here by Rodney Fisher, is entertaining and fun for the most part. There are times when I felt the momentum slows a little and certain events occur merely as a device for making Deb feel even more low and ashamed of what she is doing. It’s as if the script wants to push Deb so far that we have no choice but to sympathise with her, rather than trust that the audience will like her despite her actions.

However, Muggleton’s impressive performance and Nadia Tass‘ playful direction, playing out in Deborah’s book-filled living room as designed by Shaun Gurton, greatly assist in getting the audience through the lags and in quickly building towards the numerous climaxes throughout the show – both literally and figuratively speaking. The times when Deb goes out to the audience or acknowledges a reaction from the spectators adroitly strengthen the relationship between us and the character, and allows for a deeper sense of empathy to be shared.

While it’s true what Deb says about finding happiness in a good book, you can also find it in a good show. The Book Club is an enjoyable 90 minutes of laughs that can boast a story that is well-grounded yet enticingly dramatic and scandalous, and a dynamic and engaging performance by Amanda Muggleton.

Venue: Southbank Theatre, 140 Southbank Boulevard, Southbank
Season: Until 14 August | Tues – Sat 7.00pm, Sat 3pm, Sun 5pm
 Tickets From: $70.45 Full | $65.35 Conc
Bookings: Melbourne Theatre Company

Image by Casey Wong

Review, Theatre, Whats On

Zoey Dawson’s CONVICTION

Unsettling and outstanding

By Leeor Adar

Welcome to the prolonged anxiety attack.

Conviction.jpg

We were submerged into a seemingly soothing world of sound design maverick, James Paul. Distant shores ebbed and flowed into the subconscious and conscious workings of playwright Zoey Dawson. Inane, witty and self-indulgent thoughts grabbed us and made us laugh, and sometimes think a little too hard about ourselves. But that was Dawson’s point. Our own private narrative is both universal and compelling, and Dawson understands this, even if it ticks some theatre-goers off.

Declan Greene’s assured direction makes its masterful entrance as our actors form a tableau from a bygone era. The stream of consciousness that we found ourselves immersed in earlier is being spoken by our now shifting tableau. It’s a gorgeous beginning, and I feel safe in this space, which will become a central feature of what the Dawson/Greene team are going to undo.

And undo it they will.

Conviction goes House on the Prairie to Lord of the Flies in a descent one does not see coming. With every unhappy scene, it is reworked again, and again, just as its playwright tears the pages of their work away. You can almost feel the playwright’s desperation as historical inconsistencies litter the work, until our convict-cum-lady, Lillian (Ruby Hughes), is smoking out of a crack pipe and unravelling both out of character and out of era. The playwright has clearly become bored with the ‘great play’ and returns to a reality more familiar.

The cast is excellent – but it is our leading ladies who really stand out. Hughes dominates in her performance as the ‘survivor’ in a world of her own making, and Caroline Lee’s timing as a performer is effortless. Greene has directed his cast with style – transitioning them with ease from one dimension to the next. It’s a testament to this creative team’s skill that as an audience we take this wild and weird journey with them.

The only concern for this work is its exclusivity. Dawson may find it difficult to reimagine this work in another city. The references to Melbourne and the very specific Melbourne condition are hard to unravel. Dawson’s story resonated with me, but I wonder, outside of the theatre-loving privilege, how will outsiders connect? Dawson has taken on a mouthful in Conviction, but she still artfully weaves historical and feminist inconsistencies into her work in a way that is charming, jarring and familiar.  She reconfigures the past, as our stock white colonialists ask a passing native Australian to tell her story. The world stops for a moment, blacked out and blank, as this story was not Dawson’s to tell. Dawson reminds us that we write stories about our own experiences because they are authentic. It’s also a brazen up-yours to our great nation’s denial of a stolen history. But this is Dawson’s experience, and she manages to intersect her private narrative with a greater narrative about our fear of not being enough, and unworthy of telling our tale.

This isn’t a story about convicts – as I expect you’ve gathered by now. It’s a story about convicting ourselves to a life of self-doubt and anxiety for failing to have the conviction to tell our story.

You can join the stream of consciousness from the 27 July to the 6 August, Wednesday – Sunday at 7:30pm, Northcote Town Hall.

Bookings: Conviction Ticketing

Cabaret, Review, Whats On

Peter Rugg’s BIG GAY ADVENTURE!

Get sparkly!

By Joana Simmons

For his debut full length cabaret; Peter Rugg brings us Peter Rugg’s Big Gay Adventure!, the camp tale of a narcissistic millennial who lifts the lid on what it’s like to be gay today. Peter is brave and Rugg-edly uncovered in this Caba-gay filled with pop and musical theatre songs, educational anedcotes and one sparkly blazer.

Peter Ruggs Big Gay Adventure.jpg

As a kid, Peter dreamed of having the wedding with the isle and the doves and the man of his dreams. He points out that he didn’t have very many gay couples as role models and when he woke up in the adult world, realised that amongst the tanned hairless twinks on Grindr, finding this happy-every-after might be harder than he thought. Especially living in a country where marriage still isn’t legal. Cheeky one-liners and smug segues between stories and songs navigate us through tribes and groups of ‘types’ of gay, dating, anonymous hook-ups, judgement, body image and discrimination. Some of the more meaty topics he touched on lightly, though I would have loved for him to authentically bare all truths about them- sexual health, role-model couples and what it’s like being in the closet, rather than spending more time talking about Grindr and things which are stereotypical for a young gay man.

For a first full-length show, this content and topic is no walk in the park, and Peter tackled it with gusto though structurally the issues could be developed more to really hit home. He’s interesting, and I wanted him to go deeper (excuse the innuendo, after seeing this show I see it in everything!)

Rainer on the piano sweetly accompanies him and must also be mentioned for his speaking role and assistance with putting Peter back on his train of throught. The adaptations on pop and musical theatre songs express his wants, views and struggles. Highlights were his rendition of Estelle’s “American Boy” and the heartfelt song for all the men in the closet, and these made up for moments in other songs where notes were pitchy and storytelling and ideas were lost. Applause followed every number and his energy carried through. His interaction with the crowd was relaxed and conversational; he was able to work the crowd well although some of the time he spoke directly to his friends, and it felt like the two of them having a chat over brunch that the rest of us weren’t invited to. The final few numbers were standouts and made up for all the flaws previously mentioned: his honesty about how it felt when he held hands with a boy in public for the first time, and the fear of discrimination, and what his wedding would be like had me fixated. Finishing with a fabulous upbeat number left us loving him all the way to his curtsey.

This caba-gay is an onstage celebration of all things camp. It’s not easy doing a solo cabaret: you are baring a part of your soul in an entertaining way. It’s probably even harder when it’s a part of your soul not everyone in this country agrees with. So for that, and more, support Peter Rugg and his Big Gay Adventure because what he has to say is important and the talent is definitely there. He’s a looker too: you can’t help but get lost in his GAY-ze.

Show Details: Peter Rugg’s Big Gay Adventure!

Dates: July 20-24

Time: 7pm

Cost: $25-32

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne

Tickets: thebutterflyclub.com

Comedy, Review, Whats On

Joshua Ladgrove in NEAL PORTENZA NEAL PORTENZA NEAL PORTENZA NEAL PORTENZA NEAL PORTENZA NEAL PORTENZA NEAL PORTENZA. TRACEY.

Incessantly and enthrallingly funny

By Myron My

What’s in a name? It certainly doesn’t matter in Joshua Ladgrove’s Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza. Tracey, but it is a clear indication of the type of show this is. It is 60 minutes of comedy that will have you snorting with laughter, squirming in your seat and wondering what goes on inside Neal Portenza’s – and Ladgrove’s – head, all at the same time. 

Neal Portenza.jpg

As with his previous shows, this is a combination of scripted absurdist comedy with many opportunities for improvisation and off-the-cuff humour, with much of this born from Ladgrove’s interactions with his audience. A running joke on the night I attended was based around two people working in the medical profession and Ladgrove attempting to explain things in medical terms so that they would understand.

It’s the type of show that the more the audience feeds him, the bigger and crazier the show will get, such as the woman who very happily volunteered to lick sauce off Ladgrove’s chest and a male audience member nonchalantly removing his t-shirt because he was asked to. However, Ladgrove is aware of boundaries and there is never a moment where anyone who puts their hand up is made to feel uncomfortable or unsafe, as his skill at reading the room is highly accurate.

While this is a one-man show, Ladgrove’s tech Nathan is just as involved in Neal Portenza et al, telling him what to do and also what not to do, and injecting moments into the show that seem to genuinely surprise Ladgrove and delight the audiences. It’s a great, collaborative relationship the two seem to share and adds another element of surprise as to what the audience can expect. 

There’s no story or over-arching theme in this type of comedy. To even attempt it would be a disservice to Ladgrove and the work he is trying to create: because, for a moment in time, you were in a room, watching Neal Portenza doing things and saying things that are so utterly ridiculous that you cannot help but laugh. A lot.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 5 Carson Place, Melbourne
Season: Sunday 24 July | 8.30pm 
Tickets: $32 Full | $28 Conc 
Bookings: The Butterfly Club 

Musical Theatre, Review, Whats On

Melbourne 2016 Season of MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL

Joyous celebration of women, wit, love, and life

By Narelle Wood

Four sassy women take to the stage, set in the midst of a department store lingerie sale, to lament, laugh and learn about all things menopause. Menopause the Musical – Women on Fire sees a revitalised production of the hit show return to Melbourne with new choreography, some new songs, and plenty of new laughs.

Menopause the Musical.jpg

Caroline Gillmer, Donna Lee, Megan Shapcott and Jackie Love play these four very different characters (business woman, housewife, hippy and soap star respectively) that bond over the sisterhood experience – the midlife change. Over the course of the day in their Myer-style department store (although the set is more Victoria Secret) they shop lingerie, spa-date, lunch-date and shoop shoop their way through everything from hot flushes, sex and needing to go to the bathroom.

Shapcott and Love are great but Gillmer and Lee just seem to revel in all the awkwardness and candidness that their glorious characters demand. The depiction of Lee as a housewife doesn’t quite capture the complexity of the character she brings to life; it was captivating and joyful but in a uncomfortable and desperate kind of way – hard to describe but definitely fantastic.

The musical elements is reliant on parodies of some well-known classics from the 60’s, 70’s and the occasional 80’s. There are some standout reworkings including The Great Pretender to Sane and Normal Girls (The Beach Boys’ California Girls). One of my favourites was the poignant reimagining of Sonny and Cher’s I’ve Got You Babe, exploring the complex and close relationships between mothers and daughters. For the most part the parodies work providing witty and honest commentary that has the audience guffawing loudly. However a couple of the songs, mostly at the start, sounded like they were forcing the rhymes and rhythms to create the songs they were after.

Even though it is directed and choreographed by the acclaimed Tony Bartuccio, there were moments where it seemed as though all the elements, incredible in their own right, hadn’t quite come together. This made the performance for me a little uneven; some instances that were polished and right on point and others that were good but appeared to lack cohesiveness as though it was indeed a new production still finding its feet.

Menopause the Musical may not appear to be everybody’s cup of tea, but first glances can be deceiving. It makes for both a good night out and an educational experience, and one that is sure to leave a smile on your face.

Venue: Athenaeum Theatre, 188 Collins St, Melbourne

Season: Until August 6th. Tues 7pm, Wed-Sat 7.30pm, matinees Wed 1pm & Sat 2pm

Tickets: $59.90  (+ booking fees)

Bookings: www.ticketek.com.au or 132 849

Cabaret, Events, Opportunities, Whats On

Barking Spider Theatre and The Johnston Collection Present HOUSE OF DREAMS

A mesmerising meander through arts, antiques and imagination

By Myron My

William Robert Johnston was a Melbourne-based antique dealer and a collector of beautiful things, and he wanted to share these unusual and visually arresting items with the public. Upon his death in 1986, the not-for-profit museum, The Johnston Collection was established. The Collection has had a rotation of guest curators including The Australian Ballet’s Artistic Director David McAllister, milliner Richard Nylon and design studio Hecker Guthrie, who were given the opportunity to explore, regard and share the curiosities within the collection.

House of Dreams.jpg

With its current exhibition, House of Dreams, guest curators Barking Spider Visual Theatre – a Melbourne-based multi-art form company – have spent the last 18 months designing the nine spaces to create a highly evocative and imaginative environment to be experienced. Led by Artistic Director Penelope Bartlau, the theatre company is known for its exemplary productions and varied methods of creating and sharing stories with audiences.

While we were advised to wander around the space and devise our own story based on what we saw and heard, I personally enjoyed learning about Johnston’s childhood and family from the highly knowledgeable volunteers, and being able to gain a deeper understanding of the symbolism and purpose that the various items being used held. The meticulous effort that Barking Spider has put into each room is evident. You could easily spend half an hour in the one location, discovering new pieces, seeing things from different perspectives and mulling over the effect a particular room or item has had on you.

House of Dreams is both joyful and saddening. It is filled with hope and also loneliness, but the story you choose to create is completely in your own hands. While I can still vividly recall so many of the striking items on display, the experience of walking through The Collection, and more specifically, doing so under Barking Spider’s curating, made it feel like a dream in itself – and one that I am keen to re-visit over the coming months.

The Johnston Collection runs daily tours of House of Dreams until 20 September.

For booking details please visit The Johnston Collection website.